This study presents an operational definition of creativity within the contexts of business, school and community. A design for the strategic management of creativity is developed. Suggestions are made for programs to increase effectiveness in the use of creative skills. Creativity has been viewed in the past as something that happens rather than deliberate activity directed to specific goals. Numerous studies have failed to find a significant relationship between measurements of creative skills and intelligence as delimited by IQ tests and other measures of performance. Creativity can be distinguished as a category, process and quality of intelligence, and both can be defined in qualitative and theoretical terms. Models are constructed in the study to classify creativity. The components of the creative act can be tracked. A model sets parameters and categories for investigations to permit variation of content in a relatively stable sequence of steps. The sequence can be extracted as a method to process ideas from any discourse.

The purpose of this study is to explore understandings of leadership and creativity and how they are seen to connect in particular arts organisations located in Adelaide. Creativity and artistic practice are generally agreed as being at the core of an arts organisation's mission. The subjects of the study are arts organisations in receipt of government subsidy. Given changes to the environment for subsidised arts organisations, particularly over the past decade, the study explores the possible impact of differing expectations of the leadership role of arts organisations and the possible impact on the organisation's creativity. / A literature review focusing on generic leadership, creativity and leadership, and leadership and management in the arts informs the study. This review begins with an exploration of specialist literature related to arts leadership and management and subsequently considers generic literature on leadership and creativity. The literature search explores the interconnections between leadership, creativity and the arts, as a background for the remainder of the study / Using a case study methodology, the study focuses on six different arts organisations in South Australia. The intent of the methodology is to understand how leadership and creativity is understood within these different arts organisations, and how that relationship is perceived, given differences in both artforms and organisational structures. The methodology, while using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, uses a qualitative framework to analyse and discuss the data generated, to address the central issues of leadership and creativity within arts organisations. / An examination of the local environment- South Australia- sets the scene for the study of the arts organisations. A background of each organisation is given which is intended to provide further information and to promote an understanding of individual organisations. The data collection process involved the use of a questionnaire survey and interviews to gather information relevant to the central focus of the study. The results of the data collection are then presented for each organisation. The results of both the individual case studies and the integration of the data from all of the case studies are further discussed and analysed. Then the results of the case studies are integrated with the literature review to determine whether a congruency exists between the literature relating to leadership, creativity, and leadership in the arts in particular, and the results of the case studies. Conclusions are then made about understandings of leadership and creativity in arts organisations, with recommendations for further research. / While leadership is not seen as being directly related to a creative culture, it is generally accepted that the leadership of these arts organisations is embedded in the artistic leadership. However, the exercise of this artistic leadership is not necessarily associated with one individual or individuals, but can be exercised by different people at different times, depending on need and expertise. So there is evidence of a hybrid form of distributed leadership within arts organisations, where leadership is not associated with positional authority but with the capacity to provide artistic leadership. / The study demonstrates that there is a high degree of recognition by those involved with these artistic organisations, of the need for a creative culture and for creativity in general. However, while it is recognised that a creative culture and creativity are important in these organisations, leadership, as the determinant of that creativity, is not necessarily seen as the major catalyst. In fact, there was a general indication that both creativity and leadership were being interpreted differently, by different people at different times. So, with different interpretations and different understandings, come different expectations as to the relationship between leadership and creativity, as well as the importance placed on creativity. It is noted that the changing environment, which is placing an increased emphasis on income generation, can have a negative effect on the organisation's creative culture. There is some limited indication that the pressures placed on leaders of organisations to produce business outcomes as well as artistic outcomes, can be an inherent source of tension, particularly when the current paradigm is inclined more towards the former than the latter. / These insights about leadership and creativity in arts organisations, limited as it is by time, place and sample size, provide an original contribution to knowledge, focussing as it does, on leaders and other key influences on arts organisations in South Australia. / Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, [2006]

In a fast changing world driven by human resourcefulness and non-orthodox competition, the strategic role of workplace creativity needs no substantiation. However, as restricted by the conventional perception that creativity is an activity of the brilliant individual, this discussion of creativity as an organizational experience is a rather new phenomenon. Though Malaysian researchers are no stranger to the field of creativity, especially in the educational setting, they have overlooked organizational creativity so far. This portfolio therefore endeavours to narrow the gap by, firstly, reviewing the related literature and proposing a workable model for organizational creativity; and secondly, investigating empirically some of the selected dimensions of this proposed model. / Paper 1 establishes the theoretical background of the whole study. The concept of organizational creativity is broadly tackled with inputs from prior literature that has developed the various aspects of human creative efforts. A conceptual framework is suggested as a result of the exploration. According to the proposed model, organizational creativity is an organizationally mediated system through which the personal and social inputs were transformed into different drivers with the desired final states. / Paper 2 used Zhuang, Williamson and Carter's (1999) 'Attitude Survey Questionnaire' to investigate Malaysian managers' self-evaluation of their own personal creativity; the propensity with which they translate their personal creativity into creative contributions to organizations; and, the organizational mediation in terms of policies toward personal creativity. The study indicates that while there are positive and strong correlation among personal creativity, creative participation and creativity-related policies, Malaysian organizations relied heavily on their senior managers for creative inputs. With assertion for the strategic function of policies to foster creativity across organizations, and the availability of more opportunities for middle and junior managers' creative involvement, this article proposes factors that need to be addressed when formulating the policies concerned. / Paper 3 used Anderson and West's (1998) 'Team Climate Inventory' (TCI) to survey the relationship between perceived team climate and team creativity within the context of process-relevant creativity. According to the findings of this study, team creativity is confirmed to be strongly correlated to the degree to which team climate exists in a team. In addition, creative ideas are profitable not only to product development and improvement they are equally important to process development and improvement. Comparing the findings of current research with previous literature, this article argues that by involving teams with positive climate in process-relevant creativity, an organization's profit could be improved. / Like the academic inquiry of 'organizational creativity', the use of the aforesaid instruments is also a new experience to Malaysian organizations as a whole. It is believed that these three papers have systematically addressed some of the dimensions that are critical to the development of organizational creativity, and, the findings could be meaningful to Malaysian organizations that wish to thrive with greater employee ingenuity. / Thesis (DBA(DBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2005.

Thesis (PhD) -- AUT University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (196 leaves ; 30 cm.) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 659.1 OPA)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2009. / "Submitted to Department of Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-173)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 166 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 154-160). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-111).

The resource-based view (RBV) approach bases the strengths of firms on two concepts; resources and capabilities. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2008.

Inaugural speech delivered on Mar. 19, 2009 at the University of Amsterdam. / Published under the auspices of the University of Amsterdam. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-47).

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.